Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg
Early life Of British, Chinese, Czech and Austrian ancestry, Alexandra Manley was born in Hong Kong, as the eldest of three daughters of Richard Nigel Manley (born in Shanghai in 1924 to a British father and Chinese mother; died Jan. 2010) and Christa Maria Manley (née Nowotny of Czech and Austrian descent, born in Austria in 1933). She was christened at the Cathedral of Saint John, Hong Kong. Her father was an insurance company executive; her mother was the manager of a communications company. She studied at the private English Schools Foundation run Island School for her secondary education. Manley studied international business at universities in Austria, Japan and the United Kingdom. It is not known whether she has obtained a university degree. From 1990 to 1995, she was employed by GT Management (Asia) Ltd., Hong Kong, where she from 1990-1993 worked in Sales and Marketing and from 1993 as a deputy chief executive of that department. First marriage and children Alexandra met Prince Joachim at a party in Hong Kong, where he was working for a Danish shipping company. After a whirlwind courtship, thought to have begun in late autumn of 1994, Prince Joachim, on bended knee, presented Alexandra with a diamond and ruby engagement ring while the couple holidayed together in the Philippines. Their engagement, which took both Alexandra's family and Danish royal watchers by surprise, was officially revealed in May 1995. They were wed on 18 November 1995, by Queen Margrethe's Chaplain-in-Ordinary, in the Chapel of Frederiksborg Castle at Hillerød. The wedding festivities were held at Fredensborg Palace. When she wed Prince Joachim, however, she had to renounce her British citizenship and give up her career in marketing. She also changed her religious affiliation. Alexandra, an Anglican, received instruction in the Evangelical Lutheran faith and was confirmed prior to her wedding. Prince Joachim and Alexandra have two children from their former marriage: *''His Highness'' Prince Nikolai William Alexander Frederik, born on 28 August 1999 *''His Highness'' Prince Felix Henrik Valdemar Christian, born on 22 July 2002 Life as a princess Alexandra instantly became popular with the Danish people. Known for her fashion sense and charity work, she was dubbed the Diana of the North. She is a native English and German speaker (through her father and mother, respectively), and her fluency in German helped her pick up the Danish language quickly. Within a few years she spoke it nearly without accent, which further endeared her to the Danes. As she said in an interview, "I don't find the grammar especially difficult, but the pronunciation can be hard, since we swallow some of our words. It reminds me a little of German, with the glottal stop … Saying something with an upswing or a downswing can give a word an entirely different meaning," she explained. "It was my decision to learn the language immediately. It would have been terrible to have to stand up and speak English at an engagement, or thank someone for something. It would have been utterly wrong. This is my home, and so there was no other option". Despite growing up and being educated in Hong Kong, Alexandra never learned to speak Mandarin Chinese or Cantonese. Both during and after her marriage, she was involved in numerous philanthropic pursuits, including the Children's Red Cross, the Danish Society for the blind, UNICEF, and single mothers' advocacy group Mother help. She also served as a UNICEF ambassador when she travelled to Thailand to visit HIV/AIDS patients. Separation and divorce By the summer of 2004, rumours were circulating throughout Denmark and neighbouring Sweden and Norway that her marriage to Prince Joachim had gone sour. The rumours proved to be true. On 16 September 2004 Alexandra and Joachim announced their separation and eventual intention to divorce. It would be the first in the Royal Family since 1846. Newspaper reports speculating on the reasons for the marital rupture soon followed. The Folketing decided to put Alexandra on the civil list for life, independent of her possible future remarriage. Alexandra's payments of her new yearly allowance of $330,000.00 (US) started retroactively from 1 October 2004. The couple divorced on 8 April 2005. Second marriage and current life In the summer of 2005 there were reports and pictures of Alexandra together with 14 years younger Martin Jørgensen (b. 2 March 1978 in Valby), who is a photographer and the son of Jacob Jørgensen. Jacob Jørgensen is well known in Danmark for his film production company JJ Film, which produced numerous documentaries in which members of the Royal Family co-operated and participated. She married Martin Jørgensen on 3 March 2007 and therefore forfeited her title as a "Princess of Denmark". She is now named as Alexandra Christina, Countess of Frederiksborg. In 2007 the Countess of Frederiksborg joined the Danish board of directors of Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Names, titles and styles English *'30 June 1964 – 18 November 1995': Miss Alexandra Christina Manley *'18 November 1995 – 8 April 2005': Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Denmark *'8 April 2005 – 30 June 2005': Her Highness Princess Alexandra of Denmark *'30 June 2005 – 3 March 2007': Her Highness Princess Alexandra of Denmark, Countess of Frederiksborg *'3 March 2007 – present': Her Excellency Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg Danish *'30 June 1964 – 18 November 1995': Frøken Alexandra Christina Manley *'18 November 1995 – 8 April 2005': Hendes Kongelige Højhed Prinsesse Alexandra af Danmark *'8 April 2005 – 30 June 2005': Hendes Højhed Prinsesse Alexandra af Danmark *'30 June 2005 – 3 March 2007': Hendes Højhed Prinsesse Alexandra af Danmark, grevinde af Frederiksborg *'3 March 2007 – present': Hendes Excellence Alexandra, grevinde af Frederiksborg Style and titles after her divorce As with other Royal consorts married to Princes, Alexandra's style Royal Highness rested on her marital status, and ceased upon her divorce. After the divorce Alexandra was given a new, albeit lower status, style Highness. This is a different solution than what was done with Diana, Princess of Wales, who having lost her Royal Highness style upon her divorce, was not given any new style of her own, despite the fact that she was the mother of a future monarch, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. On her birthday (16 April 2005), Queen Margrethe bestowed upon her former daughter-in-law the additional personal title Grevinde af Frederiksborg (Countess of Frederiksborg). The title Countess of Frederiksborg is given the rank of Class 1, which entitles Alexandra to the style of "Excellency". The title is personal (unlike the title of Princess) and was threrefore not revoked, nor did it become dormant, when Alexandra remarried in March 2007. Like a life peerage in the United Kingdom, it will not be inherited by her children. Honours Denmark *Knight of the Order of the Elephant (RE) *Silver Jubilee Medal of Queen Margarethe of Denmark *Queen Margrethe's portrait en miniature (this is not a family order, but a personal decoration by the queen) Foreign *Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland (SVR SR) *Grand Cross with Sash of the Order of the Star of Romania *Grand Cross of the Civil and Military Order of Merit of Adolphe of Nassan